GIVING THANKS FOR THE GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The path of the righteous is level; You, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for You; Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for You in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for You.

Isaiah 26:7-9a

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

If you are becoming a Christian or have been a Christian for some time, then you have to know that the matter of righteousness is central to our faith. God the Father expects us to live right and that means free from sin. To that end, He gave us His one and only Son Jesus who not only came to give His life for us and save us from our sins but came to show us how to live in righteousness. Follow the ways of Jesus and we can be assured we will be living right. It’s a simple equation.

Given this, we need to be in a constant state of praise, praise for the fact that through Jesus God has given us a promise of everlasting life. Death is not the end for Christians but only the start of a glorious eternity spent with our Father and His Son, an eternity free from all that would afflict us in this world. There will be no more pain, no more suffering, no more hardship, no more afflictions, no more brokenness, and no more sin. Instead, there will only be light and love and perfect peace as the righteous inhabit the New Jerusalem, the new holy city created within the new earth and heaven that will come to be when Jesus returns.

We also need to be in praise for the righteousness that God leads us to through Christ Jesus. For if we follow Jesus, we will find ourselves where God wants us to be, living within His will, word, and way. This is because Jesus is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6). There is no one else who will point us toward righteousness outside of Him. Indeed, Jesus taught us the following regarding living the right way:

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-14

The path of righteousness is straight and narrow. There are no options, no side paths, no off ramps. If you walk straight, living righteously as Jesus did, and you will find life eternal. Choose sin and wickedness instead and you will stray off of the narrow path onto a path that is wide, a path that leads to destruction. It’s a path that none of us want to be on although many are indeed traveling it, even people who profess to be Christian. Yes I said it. There are proclaimed Christians who think they are on the narrow path when they are really on the wide one. No one ever said a Christian can’t lose their bearings. People walk away from Jesus all the time, even His followers.

Friends, we need to be praising God that He provided us a spiritual GPS in Jesus. In the last days, people will be doing just that as we see in our scripture from Isaiah, Chapter 26. Look again at these words:

The path of the righteous is level; You, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for You; Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for You in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for You. vv. 7-9a

Through Jesus, God has provided us a way to walk level and smoothly as we travel the way of righteousness. All we need to do is ask Jesus to lead and guide us through each and every day, following His will and way. When we do this, we walk in the laws of God and find ourselves more and more in a spirit of reverence and thanksgiving toward the God who gives us all we could ever ask for, all we could ever need. We find ourselves hungering and thirsting for righteousness each and every day, and as a result, we are filled to overflow because Jesus promised it would be so (Matthew 5:6). We discover that our souls and spirits yearn for communion with our Savior as He and He alone becomes the desire of our hearts.

In other words, our entire life revolves around our relationship with the Lord Jesus and God His Father.

That’s the only way there is to truly live. That’s how we will truly find righteousness in life.  

Today and every day, let us give thanks for the gift of Jesus, granted to us by our Creator God who loves us so deeply.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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THE DAY OF HUMBLING

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

He humbles those who dwell on high, He lays the lofty city low; He levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust. Feet trample it down—the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor.

Isaiah 26:5-6

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

So far in the 26th chapter of Isaiah, we have learned this about the day that Jesus will return:

1. Heaven and earth as we know it will be destroyed.

2. There will be a new heaven and earth with a holy city called New Jerusalem.

3. The righteous, those who placed their faith in Jesus as Savior, will inhabit that new city.

4. The righteous will live in perfect peace in New Jerusalem because they maintained their trust in Jesus who was their Rock eternal.

In sum, the day that Jesus returns will be the best day ever for those who believed Jesus is the Savior of the world, those referred to as the righteous in the Bible. Conversely, it will be the worse day ever for those who chose to not believe in Him, the people called wicked in the scriptures, the people who chose sin over salvation. Those people are destined for devastation along with the world they decided to place their trust in, cast into a lake of fire along with Satan. It will be a day of humbling, where those who displayed a prideful stubbornness in their reluctance to receive Christ will meet their end.

It is these people that our two verses speak of today as we continue our look at Isaiah 26:

He humbles those who dwell on high, He lays the lofty city low; He levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust. Feet trample it down—the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor.  vv. 5-6

Those who established themselves as high and mighty by the world’s standards but failed to place Christ first will be brought low by the Lord Most High, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Their lofty cities will be laid low and leveled to the ground, cast into the dust.

How low would the cities be laid?

Low enough that all those who positioned themselves as high and mighty over the poor and oppressed will now find themselves trampled by the feet of those they mistreated. In other words, the very words of Jesus Himself will come to life:

“Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Matthew 23:12

As we look at our world today, ask yourselves these questions:

How many nations are openly proclaiming their belief and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior? Is your nation?

How many cities or towns or counties or boroughs or communities openly proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior? Is yours?

If we answer these questions honestly, it doesn’t paint a very encouraging picture, does it? There will be a lot of places and people laid low on the day Jesus returns, on that day of humbling.

Let us all pray that change happens before that day, that the collective hearts of people and their leaders turn to Jesus as their sole source of hope in life now and forever before it’s too late.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

THE ONLY ONE WE CAN TRUST, THE ONLY ONE WE SHOULD TRUST

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord Himself, is the Rock eternal.

Isaiah 26:4

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In whom do you place your trust? Who do you most rely on in life?

For much of our world today, you will receive one of two answers.

The first answer might be that a person trusts in themselves. These people are so self confident that they feel they can get through anything and everything in life without assistance. No matter how difficult a situation might be, they feel they can find a solution. No how hard something may be, they are convinced they are strong enough to pull through it.

The second answer will be trust in any number of other people in the world outside of the person asked. These people have sense enough to admit they can’t handle everything and so they lean on others when they have a need for support or assistance. The feeling is that there is someone who can help them find their way through any situation they encounter whether that person is alien to them or close to them like a family member or friend.

Both of these life attitudes are terribly flawed at their root.

Why?

Because in either case, a person is placing their full hope and faith in someone who is imperfect, someone who will not always necessarily be with them forever, someone who may not be as reliable as they thought.

This is why today’s scripture verse from Isaiah, Chapter 26, is critical for us to hear and put into action in our lives. It points us to the only one we can truly count on in any and all situations to be there for us, providing perfect solutions, perfect wisdom, perfect protection, and perfect guidance and direction.

Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord Himself, is the Rock eternal.

Who can do what the Lord can do?

No one has His power. No one has His understanding and knowledge. No one can do all things as He can.

He is the Rock, the solid foundation upon which we can stand and build our lives upon, not just today but forever. No one else is like Him, no one else can be like Him, no one else will be like Him. There is nothing beyond the work of His almighty hands. That is a fact underscored throughout the scriptures and it is a fact that has been underscored in all the years since then to present times.

When it comes right down to it, the Lord is the only one we can truly trust. He’s the only one we should trust, now and forever.

As we enter this new year, have you placed your full faith and hope in Him?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FROM THE WORD OF GOD (PART 2)

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

"And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. " Colossians 3:15b-17

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

NOTE: This has been a traditional devotion for each New Year. Part 1 was yesterday and today I hope you’ll be blessed by Part 2. Enjoy and may the Lord’s richest blessings be yours in 2015!

Yesterday, I covered resolutions six through ten based on Colossians, Chapter 3, verses 12-15a. Today’s final five resolutions come from the remainder of Paul’s words in Chapter 3:

"And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. " Colossians 3:15b-17

5. Be thankful

There’s a popular saying that says, "Count your blessings...and when you get done, count them again." Too often, life’s circumstances can make us lose sight of all the great and awesome things the Lord has done in our lives. But if we consider how blessed we are, we can keep our attitude focused on thanksgiving and praise toward our God who provides for us. In 2015, let’s work to be thankful in all circumstances.

4. Let the word of God dwell in you richly

Time is precious and God wants us to be good stewards of it to include quiet time with Him and a commitment to prayer and scripture reading. At times, life leaves us exhausted, confused, or dismayed. During these times, we often fail to turn to the help that comes from just a few minutes of prayer or bible reading.

Friends…all the wisdom, strength and guidance we need are found in the Bible which is God’s instruction manual on life given to help us make it daily. When we read it, study it, and pray over it, it comes alive and dwells in our hearts and minds, illuminating our path as we walk through life.

In the new year, I believe God wants us to spend more time with Him, reading and studying the bible so His words might come to reside in our hearts and minds forever.

3. Teach and advise one another with all wisdom

We can only do this if we follow the last resolution and allow the word of God to dwell richly within us for our study of Holy Scripture will lead to spiritual wisdom as it takes hold within our hearts. Then, the Lord expects us to take His wisdom and share it with others. Jesus gave us that instruction in His Great Commission as He told us to "teach others to obey all that He had commanded." (Matthew 28:20)

We learn God’s commandments and understand His expectations only by reading the Bible, meditating on our reading and then putting it into action. In 2015, let’s be proactive in teaching others using the wisdom God places within us.

2. Sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God

Do you have a favorite song? What is it about that song that makes it your favorite? Most often, it is because the song makes you feel good and elevates your spirit above whatever might be happening in your day.

I have found music has an effect on the soul unlike any other medium. Whether it is a praise and worship song or a classic hymn, spiritual music is a gift from God that brings us into the attitude of worship and adoration. My prayer in 2015 is that we would sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with the fullest sense of gratitude in our hearts toward God, making a joyful noise unto the Lord!

1. Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him

Is there a more suitable number one resolution that God would have for us in 2015 or any other year for that matter?

For in this resolution, there is no gray area…no exception…just the requirement for us all to do everything in the name of Jesus, all the while giving thanks to God for the indescribable gift of salvation and eternal life through His Son who He gave freely to pay the price for our sins.

What would Jesus do? We should act on the answer to that question in every situation in 2015. If we do, we can ensure we always meet not only resolution number one but all the other resolutions found in the scriptures found in Colossians, Chapter 3.

Stay encouraged and blessed always.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com